


Her Name is Vengeance.

by angelcakes12332



Series: Oh The Things Darcy Could Be. [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marv - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Assistant Darcy Lewis, Awesome Darcy Lewis, BAMF Darcy Lewis, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Darcy Lewis-centric, Darcy is the Spirit of Vengeance, F/F, I hoping for this to be a collection of short stories, Penance Stare, Scientist Wrangler Darcy Lewis, Sorry wrong fandom, Watch it or she'll take your soul, We Begin our Journey with Bucky Barnes, Where the Avengers meet the Ghost rider in someway or other, because all great MCU stories begin and end with killing Hydra agents, buckle up babes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:34:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22341124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelcakes12332/pseuds/angelcakes12332
Summary: Darcy had a secret, a tiny secret. And honestly, it wasn't really a secret at all. Nobody asked, not that they'd have a reason too. And she didn't tell, because how did one go about explaining that with one look you could burn a person to ash?The answer? You didn't.OrDarcy Lewis is a Ghost Rider and everyone's sure they won't pass Judgement. Idiots.
Relationships: There might be one... but no promises
Series: Oh The Things Darcy Could Be. [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/660398
Comments: 86
Kudos: 333





	1. No Rest for the Weary

**Author's Note:**

> Another one for the collection! This could potentially be five or six chapters. but honestly, I'm only riding the coaster of inspiration. 
> 
> Enjoy!!

Unlike with most, Darcy hadn’t had a choice. There were no life-threatening ailments. No deal with a devil at a crossroads.

She wasn’t like Johnny Blaze, or that guy he’d passed on the rider to, Robby Reyes.

No.

She’d been born with it. Born with the curse. A curse passed down to the firstborn from generation to generation in the Lewis family. And as the first and only child born to her father, the curse had claimed her at such a young age that she couldn’t remember a time where she didn’t have a need for Vengeance pulsing through her.

Darcy hadn’t stood a chance in hell.

But twenty-six years with it had taught her control, she hadn’t had an “incident” since college when her roommate had come home crying from a frat party; her clothes torn and askew, with her mascara leaking a dark trail of tears down her cheeks. There had been questions and even a murder investigation that had led the police nowhere.

The call for Vengeance was a literal fire in her veins, one she usually attempted to smother. Usually.

****

Darcy jumped, startled as shutters began to close around the lab; sealing the windows and doors with metallic panels.

From his laid position on the couch, Bucky sat up, his back going ramrod straight, in a way she hadn’t seen since they’d first met.

How’d she become the calm place for The Winter Soldier, she hadn’t a clue. But the soldier often kept her company in the lab during her three am late-night work shifts.

Apparently, he wasn’t much of a sleeper.

“Please remain in the lab, there are unknown hostiles in the tower,” Jarvis announced in the semblance of an explanation of the disruption.

“Hostiles?” she murmured mostly to herself. Well, if she couldn’t leave, she might as well keep transcribing Jane’s chicken scratch.

Before the last door could be sealed an explosive went off, blowing the last panel along with the door off its frame, allowing a host of black-clad figures into the room.

Bucky was at her side in an instant, his metal arm whirring as if warming up for the coming fight.

She glanced at him with a frown, he’d confided in her a while back that he didn’t want to fight anymore. That the idea of inflicting harm on another being sent him to a place, in his mind, that he couldn’t stand going to. And after what he’d gone through? Darcy couldn’t blame the guy.

She settled a hand on his arm, the plates shifting beneath her touch.

He glanced down at her, “You need to get into the panic room, they’re here for me.”

She raised a brow. “You gonna go with them?”

He shook his head, his eyes going distant even as he met her gaze. “I’ll die before that happens, but I don’t want you to get hurt cause of me.” He let out a resigned sigh before his features hardened. “Get to the panic room,” he ordered.

There were six of them toting guns, their eyes mostly on Bucky, but their gaze kept flicking to her. Their guns trained on them both.

Heat began to seep into her veins, burning her from the inside out. “Do I look like I’m panicking?”

Bucky’s gaze snapped to her. At the otherness in her voice.

She pulled her gaze from the intruders, Hydra no doubt, to look Bucky in the eyes. She knew they were mostly hollow by this point. Not just the pupils, but the sockets themselves. The heat had finally finished its course, and she could feel her very human skin fall away leaving just bone.

She’d seen what it looked like a few times; becoming a living and breathing fiery skeleton. She’d taken to wearing pants and long sleeves.

She sank into it, letting the fire consume her. She nodded for Bucky to step back. “So many Sinners, in one room,” she giggled.

All the guns trained to her and the sounds of gunfire filled the room. She stepped through the onslaught, unhurried in her pace.

When the last gun clicked in empty succession. She raised a single hand, pointing down the line.

“Eany, meany, miney,” 

A single man stepped forward, running at her with a knife upraised.

“Oh!” she murmured, “a volunteer.”

His knife sank through her shoulder blade, right down to the hilt, cutting through the soft cashmere cardigan Tony had gotten her last Christmas. It was her favorite.

Both their eyes had followed the knife. But now with it protruding from her shoulder, she turned her head to meet his gaze, finding his eyes wide with fear.

She grabbed him by the throat before he could take a step back.

“Look into my eyes.” Her voice echoed with the voice of every victim, every soul he’d taken from this realm. “Your soul is stained with the blood of the innocent.” She turned the echoes on them. “Feel their pain.”

Screams shattered the room; she’d captured all of them in her judgment, and one by one her fire set them ablaze; starting from their souls and burning it’s way out.

When she was finished, they were nothing but piles of ashes. She dusted her hands of the one she’d been holding.

Before she could coax the hellfire back into her veins, she caught movement from the corner of her eye.

She turned, finding a man on his knees. Had she missed one?

She took a step closer, his eyes on her all the while.

As she drew closer, she found tears leaking down his cheek. His chest heaving as he wept.

“I have sinned,” he managed to choke out.

He didn’t move away, not even when she was close enough for him to feel the heat of her Hellfire.

She reached for his cheek and he didn’t so much as flinch as she settled her hand on his cheek, but his eyes did slide shut.

She’d dulled the brilliant red-orange flame to a soft blue, cool to the touch as not to burn him.

He shivered but didn’t move.

She leaned in closer as she spoke to him, her voice barely above a whisper. “Look into my eyes.”

He took in a shaky breath before, slowly, his eyes fluttered open. He set his gaze into hers, and the echoes of pain from his past rushed through her. So much pain. His. Others. It roared through her until it seemed to coalesce into one; indistinguishable in its entirety. Until she had her answer.

“Innocent.” She’d spoken the word aloud. The judgment settling through her to wash over him, even as confusion settled in his eyes.

She coaxed the Hellfire back into her veins, feeling the burn of it settle back into her like a burning embrace. She exhaled, accidentally sending a ring of smoke from her mouth as the remnants of the heat faded.

She blinked, at finding Bucky on his knees before her, his eyes wet with tears that still trailed down his cheek.

When the demon took over it was like waking up from a hazy dream, the remnants of which slowly slipped from her memory, but if she focused, she could recall it all. But for the most part, she chose not to.

She did now, recall the judgment her demon had passed on her friend. He was shaken clearly, but he didn’t move an inch. It wasn’t fear in his eyes, but there was something like awe, disbelief, and confusion all wrapped into one inside of them.

Gently, after a moment of hesitation, she pulled him into her embrace. It took a second, but his arms stiffly returned it, like he was relearning the movement. He sank fully into her and she could feel his tears seeping through the bodice of her shirt. She didn’t mind. Didn’t make a move to release him until the sound of the shutters retracting broke the silence. She was sure the team would be headed their way; surprised Steve hadn’t already rushed into the room.

Bucky attempted to dry his eyes, pulling away to wipe them on the sleeve of his shirt.

“You, look like you could use some ice cream, Buckaroo,” she said brightly.

He let out a hoarse laugh.

She paused drawing her bottom lip into her mouth. “Sorry about that, I should’ve warned you, but there wasn’t really much time. But also, how does one explain that she’s host to a Spirit of Vengeance?”

She moved to drop his hand she’d been holding, but his grip tightened before she could as he pushed back to his feet. “Is that what that was? Doll, I almost shit myself.”

A startled laugh escaped her. “Actually, I think one of the Hydra goons did,” she joked as she wrinkled her nose.

He laughed, but as it died down, his face grew somber. “Thank you.”

She frowned as she looked up at him. “For making you almost shit your pants.”

“Nah, for… whatever that was. I thought I knew. I thought… I thought I understood that Hydra had killed all those people. But since they used me to do it, I was sure my soul was just as stained as theirs.”

Darcy nodded in understanding. “Nothing like a Penance stare, to set you straight.” She didn’t say you’re welcome, instead, she dragged him from the room sidestepping a pile of ash as she went.

Footsteps sounded against the hard tile; the avengers led by Steve, barreling down the hallway. He skidded to a stop in front of them, but she continued pass, weaving through them as she went with Bucky in tow.

“Bout time you guys showed, come on Bucky, I’ll take you to the new ice cream shop that opened across the street.”

“He can’t go out, there could be more waiting to take him,” Steve stated, taking a step toward them.

She didn’t stop walking, instead, she glanced at him over her shoulder, allowing a hint of flame to dance in her eyes, a little bit of the Demon to seep into her voice. “Let them try, Cap, and they’ll burn.”

The Spirit of Vengeance had adopted a new cause, she could feel it like the Hellfire simmering in her veins; The call to arms. This one, she decided as she pulled Bucky into the elevator, she’d answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the update!

Things got weird around the tower, real quick. Aside from Thor, Bucky, and Jane, the others completely avoided her. 

At first, she was understanding. She knew all of their backgrounds; she’d been their handler for the past year now. It was new, they must’ve seen the feed from the lab, and now she was an unknown.

She expected that one of them would approach her, to talk it through… except... they didn’t and it wasn’t until Darcy talked to Thor that she understood. They were all definitively sure that they’d fail judgment. 

She wanted to smack somebody.

So, for about another week she was understanding. But as they got into week two, she was a little pissed.

She decided to approach Tony first, which wasn’t an easy feat given his “Darcy alarm”, as Jarvis called it. He managed to keep their previously agreed schedule for about another week, but on the eighth night when Darcy asked the A.I if Tony had kept schedule, he admitted that the genius was still working. 

She sent the nearest camera a hopeful smile. “Any way we could not tell him I’m on my way?”

“Unfortunately, not, Ms. Lewis, however, I’ve been ordered not to turn down his music and I am so inclined to listen for once.”

She laughed, feeling slightly bolstered but still slightly nervous about the encounter. She snuck into the lab careful of her movement, only to realize short of an atom bomb, nothing would shake Tony from this engineering bender. 

She took a seat right on the table beside his work station, waiting for him to glance up and notice her. Waited. And Waited. And…. Waited.

She noticed the exact moment he noticed her because he wasn’t all that subtle about it. He startled so violently that he practically fell out of his chair. 

She waited until he scrambled back onto his feet, looking anywhere but at her, to cross her arms and glare at him

He flinched a little and something inside of her softened because Tony was fucking terrified, and he didn't need to be, damn it!

When she spoke, her tone was softer than she intended it to be, but by the end, she’d hardened it enough to get her point across. “I’ve known you for three years now, Tony, if I was going to kill you, it would’ve happened already!”

He shrugged, still not meeting her gaze. “Maybe you’ll get around to it, short stack, I’m not... none of our hands are exactly clean, Darcy.”

Hopping off of the table, her black boots scuffing against the floor, she took a few steps closer. He didn’t move back, but he still wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“How many people have you killed Tony?” She asked, curious as to the answer he’d give.

He let out a scoff, but she could hear the desolation of it, even before he spoke a single word. 

“Hundreds.”

She shook her head. “I know you and Bucky don’t really get along, but you two have a lot more in common than I thought,” she murmured, louder she said, “let’s get this over with.”

“What?”

There was no one nearby to entice the spirit, but with a bit of coaxing the hellfire swept out of stasis and into her veins until it flushed over her; burning away her skin, her eyes, even her hair until it was a flaming mass equivalent of her loose curls.

When she faced Tony again, he was in the suit, arms raised in defense. 

Curious she tilted her head, sizing up the suit and the man she knew beneath it. She turned away from him, walking to his car collection, but her eyes alit on a bike and she came to a stop in front of it. She could sense the man behind her, he was keeping his distance but he seemed curious as to what she’d do next.

She focused on the Harley Davidson that seemed to call to the spirit. She set a hand onto it the handle allowing the fire in her veins to pour into the bike, changing it until it shortened for her height, and flames were practically pouring out of it.

Tony made a disgruntled noise from her right. “Darcy, you heathen, that’s vintage!”

She sent him a skeletal grin before she climbed onto the bike, not bothering with keys as her flames set the engine ablaze. It roared to life beneath her, and she couldn’t help the small grumble of delight that rumbled through her chest. 

She glanced over her shoulder at the suit-clad figure. “Let’s Ride.”

Tires screeched along the glossy floor, and she didn’t need to glance back to know that the tread marks would be alight with flames.

She kept her gaze forward, prepared to shatter through the glass window ahead of her. But as she neared it lifted by some silent signal. A part of her wondered at that, given that they were on the sixtieth floor.

She flew through the air, the sound of repulsers gearing up following her out into the open air. The bike angled down as it turned into a freefall, still a good distance from the tower.

She whipped off her belt, and it transformed into a flaming whip of hellfire. She whipped it around before flinging it to one of the towers support beams, taking out a window as she did. She used it to pull herself onto the side of the tower until she was riding down it vertically until she made it to the bottom and onto the New York streets.

The suit stayed above as she tore through the streets. Deciding now was as good a time as ever, to bring about the reckoning she planned for Bucky’s pursuers. 

Luckily there was a facility she could feel calling to her.

*****

The building looked abandoned from the outside, not even one story high, but she had a feeling the height was going to be more in the depth. She killed the bike's engine and stood, extinguishing her flames as she did, the bike returning to normal.

Ironman dropped to the ground beside her the fear she’d seen his eyes at the tower had dimmed, replaced by a curiosity she’d known he’d have.

“The hell short stack, why’d you make me fly all the way to Washington?”

She nodded towards the building, “Hydra-Cell.”

His eyes widened and the helmet which had retracted, reformed over his face, his gaze going to the building as he presumably did a scan of it, he retracted the hood letting out a whistle.

She crossed her arms. “The team seems to have a misconception as to what it is I do,” she shifted on her feet. “what I am.”

She sent a nod toward the facility as heat licked up her spine. “The people I go after are sick fucks, Tony. Rapist, murderers, serial killers, souls that are so stained I can’t stand in a room with them for more than a minute without bursting into flames, let alone three years.” The end of her sentence came out on a hiss, even now she was barely keeping the flames from enveloping her.

Finally, he met her gaze.

“Your guilt for what happened to your weapons,” she shook her head, “It’s not my jurisdiction, your soul,” she tilted her head, as the demon peered at him from her eyes, “is clean.”

Tony still looked skeptical, but again his guilt was his own he could keep it if he wanted to.

She faced the building. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a Hydra facility to burn to the ground, maybe after we can do midnight pizza? I’ve missed them.” She said with a pout.

Tony’s lips quirked into a smirk before his helmet fell into place. “Oh, alright. What’s a little raising between friends?”

Darcy grinned, her flames bright in the night hour. “Just don’t get in my way, Iron man.”

She climbed back onto the bike. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“I mind Darcy, I mind!”

“Too bad,” She returned before heading full tilt at the building.

The door burst open as black-clad figures took up defensive positions in front of the facility. She let out a roar of laughter at the welcoming party before setting them ablaze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for stopping by!

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like it?! I've been trying to put something like this down on paper for about a year! a whole year! and at first, it was going to be a full-length fic, but I couldn't find the inspiration for it. but then literally last night I wrote out a short story and loved. Only to wake up the next morning with more ideas for it. I'll add them as they come!  
> Thanks for stopping by!


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